Peoria Heights man indicted in marijuana raid

PEORIA — A Peoria Heights man was indicted Tuesday for allegedly having more than 11 pounds of marijuana and several pot plants when police raided his home earlier this month.

Steve P. Benson, 49, 3807 N. Faber Ave., appeared in Peoria County Circuit Court on charges of cannabis trafficking, possession of more than 5,000 grams of marijuana, possession with intent to deliver and possession of between 50 to 200 marijuana plants.

The trafficking charge carries a sentence range of 12 to 60 years in prison. He remains held at the Peoria County Jail on $75,000 bond.

Prosecutors said police raided the home Dec. 4 and found 72 plants and much more than 5,000 grams of marijuana, the legal threshold for the charge.

At his bond hearing a few days later, Benson told the judge that he wasn't selling the drug and all the marijuana found at the house was for "personal use."